Buying the UFC for Bars Creates Good Business

Being in the fight business for over 42 years, our company has a saying around the office: “Nothing draws a bigger crowd than a good fight.” We’ve learned the statement couldn’t be any more accurate when it comes to live Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-view events at sports bars.

And we have the proof in photos and testimonials to back up the statement. The most common responses we generally hear start with:

“Another sold-out crowd…”

“A great turnout…”

“A packed house of UFC fans…”

“Always a great UFC crowd…”

Last month, we heard from our friends at Dino’s Pub in Renton, WA, after a successful night broadcasting UFC 158. “Thanks Joe Hand Promotions! Ever since UFC 100 we have continued to get the UFC fights. I love the crowd and all the loyal followers it brings. They’re great! I love seeing how excited everyone gets and watching them have a great time. Thanks from all of us over here in Washington at Dino’s Pub.”

We love hearing the feedback. It tells us we’re doing something right. And it’s not just selling the live pay-per-view UFC events, but also teaching and assisting bar owners on how to successfully promote their events. Let’s face it, if the sports bar doesn’t succeed then we lose business too. Everyone benefits when we teach and assist bar owners on how to run a successful event.

Bar Promotion Ideas

Our job is helping bars fill their room with fight fans. As soon as a sports bar purchases an event, we’ll ship them a free promotional kit that includes posters, coasters, table tents and more. At the same time, we’ll assign a personal sales rep that will assist them in promoting the UFC pay-per-view event.

A few promotional tips we encourage include:

Take advantage of the free promotional material, especially by displaying the UFC posters A recent focus group found the No. 1 reason fans hear about fights is seeing posters during visits to bars and restaurants.

Create a unique bar menu with drink specials and appetizers with UFC themes.

Utilize free social media sites. Spend time promoting your event on Facebook and Twitter with photos, posters and bar specials.

Show the FREE preliminary fights on FX, FUEL or FOX, and add the monthly FREE UFC events on cable and network TV to your sports programming. This helps build your audience for the pay-per-view events.

Sorry, No Sale

On the day of a UFC event, which falls on a Saturday, our office remains open. Our staff handles calls all day answering questions about that night’s event. More than once, we’ll get that last-minute phone call from a bar owner looking to buy the pay-per-view UFC event.

You might be surprised, but on a few occasions we’ll say, “We’d rather not.”

After a moment of silence and their shock fades away, the bar owner will ask, “Why not?”

We politely explain that we would love to take their business that night, but feel they won’t enjoy a profitable night without time to promote it the right way. Purchasing a UFC commercial license is an investment. We want to see that investment grow for the bar. It’s tough to make a profit if only a few fans know you’re showing the event.

Instead, we’d rather have the bar purchase the NEXT event and turn a profit with the proper promotion. We want their first UFC experience to be a great one.

When you get a chance, take a look at the testimonials and photo gallery on our website and see how much success live UFC pay-per-view events deliver. Also take a look at our video that backs our statement: “Nothing draws a bigger crowd than a UFC fight.”